Considered one of the finest trombonists
of his generation, Tony Baker is currently a faculty member at the University
of North Texas College of Music. Previously, Mr. Baker served as assistant
professor of trombone at Ohio University and as visiting assistant professor
of trombone and euphonium at Kent State University. A native of Little Rock,
Arkansas, he is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and the University
of Central Arkansas.
Mr. Baker's professional experience is as varied as it is substantial.
As an orchestral musician, he has performed with ensembles such as the ProMusica
Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music
Festival Orchestra, and the Columbus, Akron, Arkansas, and Duluth-Superior
symphonies. Currently a member of the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX),
he is also a member of the Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble (formerly
the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble); a Minneapolis/St. Paul-based group
committed to the performance of modern works. Mr. Baker can be heard on
the ensemble's latest release, I Dig, which features works by composers
such as Leonard Bernstein, Les Baxter, and Henry Mancini.
As a soloist, Mr. Baker has established an international reputation. Mr.
Baker was a soloist at the 2000 Grindavik Cultural Festival in Iceland,
an event held in conjunction with the Reykjavik Cultural Festival. He was
also a soloist at the 2000 Festival International D'Art Lyrique, held in
Aix-en-Provence, France. This is an annual music festival hosted by the
Academie Europeénne de Musique in conjunction with the Ensemble Intercontemporain.
Ensembles with which Mr. Baker has performed as a soloist with ensembles
such as the Ohio Valley Symphony, the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra,
the Ohio University Wind Ensemble, the University of Central Arkansas Wind
Ensemble, the University of North Texas Trombone Choir, the University of
Arkansas at Pine Bluff Wind Symphony, and the Ouachita Baptist University
Wind Ensemble. Mr. Baker has given guest recitals and/or master classes
at schools such as the University of North Texas, the Oberlin Conservatory
of Music, the University of Kentucky, the University of Central Arkansas,
Murray State University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the Cincinnati
Conservatory of Music, Ohio State University, Ohio University, and Ouachita
Baptist University. In February 1996, Professor Baker was invited to perform
Luciano Berio's Sequenza V at the 1996 Music of Luciano Berio Symposium
at the University of North Texas. He was also one of eight invited participants
at the 1994 Christian Lindberg Solo Workshop. He has appeared as a clinician
and performer at the 1998 University of Illinois Trombone Camp, the 1998
International Tuba/Euphonium Conference and most recently at the 2003 regional
International Tuba/Euphonium Conference. In 2001 Baker was a guest artist
at the International Trombone Festival in Nashville, Tennessee and will
be a guest clinician at the 2003 International Trombone Festival in Helsinki,
Finland. In May 2002, Mr. Baker hosted the 2002 International Trombone Festival
at the University of North Texas. This festival has been widely recognized
as the largest and most successful in the history of this event.
Mr. Baker’s chamber music experience includes past memberships of
professional ensembles such as the Kent Brass Quintet and OhioBrass, of
which he was a founding member. Mr. Baker currently is a member of the University
of North Texas Faculty Brass Quintet and the Appalachian Trombone Quartet.
Mr. Baker performed with this ensemble on two tours of the midwestern United
States and on a 2001 tour of the United Kingdom.
As a jazz musician Mr. Baker has performed with groups such as the Woody
Herman Band and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He has also performed on stage
with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Steve Turre, Terry Gibbs, John Fedchock,
Chris Vadala, and Jiggs Whigham. As a jazz clinician, Mr. Baker is on the
faculty of summer jazz workshops at the University of North Texas and Northwest
College in Cody, Wyoming. Past jazz workshops at which Baker was a clinician
include the 2000, 2001 and 2002 University of North Texas Jazz Combo Clinics,
the 2001 and 2002 University of North Texas Jazz Trumpet and Trombone Workshops,
the 2001 and 2002 Yellowstone Jazz Camps, the 2002 Redbud Jazz Festival,
and the 1999 Capital University Jazz Week. Mr. Baker has recently accepted
an invitation to serve as the All-State Conductor of the 2004-2005 Minnesota
All-State Jazz Ensemble. Mr. Baker has recorded with the Sounds of Blackness
and can be heard with this group on their Grammy-nominated compact disc,
Time for Healing. From October 1997 to April 2000 Baker was lead trombonist
of the Columbus-based professional big band Jazz-to-Go. The recipient of
many prizes and awards, Mr. Baker's honors include a First Place in Brass
Performance in the 1991 Music Teachers National Association Wurlitzer Collegiate
Artist National Competition.